New Year's Howl
by sleepserum
Summary: Sometimes I comfort myself by imagining your howl.


_**New Year's Howl**_

Written on: 12/31/18

Posted on: 01/01/19

A/N: I wrote this at 10:30 pm and finished it at 11:11 pm. Lucky. I really wanted to make a cute lil new year's fic because wow... kogkag ^~^

 **TRIGGER WARNING: None**

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 **Sometimes I comfort myself by imagining your howl.**

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It was two hours before the New Year's, despite that the fireworks began popping and the kids tooted their horns, banged their little clappers and whichever instruments they held, rattled their _shake-shake_ toys. The collective dissonant noises echoed and though it hurt her senses and her ears she could only break a gentle, heartfelt smile as she watched the fireworks from the ground, sitting by the swing as she glanced to her mother, her brother and her grandfather who stood by each other taking a closer look and joining the crowd.

Kagome sighed to herself, she pushed her feet, burying in the sand as she swung around at the playground. Feeling the winter's ghostly touches on her skin as her hair danced along with each force of her rising and being pulled down by gravity. Lithe digits curled around the metal chains of the swing, her fingertips rubbed against the cold metal as she set her gaze on the full moon.

Her breath hitched, for a second there would be moments she would feel so close to the lunar beauty and another second where she felt so distanced from it. Her legs continued to monotonously push herself off the swing the force gradually growing stronger as she swung higher than the previous attempts. Though her ears mostly sensed the loud cheers, the _booming_ noises as well the _clanking_ of drinks from a nearby bar and the laughers of children, teens, adults and elderly alike—her ears were able to hear the slight squeaking of the swing. The way the metal chains creaked against the bars it clung to. Her lungs felt as if it were in flames, the way it tightened and felt breathless, and the way her heart raced and thundered in her rattling cages as she momentarily shut her eyes – feeling warm liquid welling up from the corners of her eyes.

"This must be so uncomfortable to you, huh?" She said with a quivering tone, blunt teeth biting onto her bottom lip as her shoulders rose in tenseness of her bursting emotions.

This was the seventh New Year's she had spent without _him_ , going to seven years since then when she had fallen into that Sacred Well and had a year full of unsuspecting adventures and mournful challenges. It almost felt like a fantasy when it happened to her; not only was her mind, body and soul was turned upside down—her heart was completely renewed. It had broken her beyond any repair when she was kicked out of that realm, forcing her back to her real world and no longer able to come back. For days and nights she had mourned for the friendships that could have been, the adventures that she could have partaken in, the battles _they_ could have won, and the holidays they could have spent and cheered all night long together – the love that could have flourished. She was young back then, hopeful and full of ambitions – her heart was full and was driven by pure passion and desire. There was nothing more she ached than the thrill and the beauty of that era.

But all fantasies and all adventures come to a close, even in movies and other literature. Once the protagonist has served their purpose, they are to return to their realm.

Her nose felt cold as she dragged her foot down, gradually slowing the swing down as she let her shoes bury in the sand of the playground. Her tears fell, creating small darkened patches on her green coat; her midnight tresses fell over her lovely face, the turbulent emotions emitting heat as it cooled on her cheeks. Her pale complexion contrasted her reddened nose, cheeks as well as her now growing reddened and puffy eyes. Her vision blurred as she looked back up at the moon.

It was a curse, for every night, when the moon rose from its gentle sleep; she would remember him, the man (or more specifically, demon) that she had fallen in love with. Granted, he was not the first man she fell for, he was still the man she had chosen to love for eternity and the man she had hoped to spend the rest of her human years with – but she was naive to ever assume she could stay. The moon resembled him, no, more like the moon was associated with his kin.

They were wolf demons.

Her lips were quirked in a forced smile. "Sometimes I comfort myself by imagining your howls," she said to no one. She let her cerulean hues scan around; she was alone, of course, yet she could not help but feel a sense of unease as if someone had been watching her. Perhaps she was only over thinking, it was soon to be the New Year's and there was definitely a crowd – no doubt one or two pairs of eyes would catch the sight of a lonely woman sitting by the park, maybe even gossiping about how pitiful she looked. She emitted a shaky breath, her mind silencing the earthly noises of honking, whistling, cheering, explosions, clinking, spilling, shouting and all the other noises until it all became a soft _mushed_ static background noise.

And then she heard it— _his howl_. She knew it was all in her head; it had always been for the past seven years. The way it sounded so ghostly in her mind would never be anything more. Her lips drew in a smile, her heartbeat calming as his stomach no longer acted up. Her skin having a heated glow as memories flooded back into her mind. The way his howls sounded in her mind had always been harmonious, as if lulling her and hushing her to a reassuring embrace. It was something she had created on her own as an act of desperation and loneliness.

 _There was that feeling again._

Her anxiety spiked up as she loosened her grip around the chains of the swing as she let one hand let go of the chains, setting it on her lap, her fingers curling deeper into the long, thick, warm sleeves of her coat as she twisted her body slightly as well as turning her head to look back. There was nothing but the forestry behind her – perhaps that was definitely suspicious, had it been the park near the Higurashi shrine it would be more believable her feeling was just from over thinking, considering this was a forest, there might actually be a creep lurking behind the trees, watching and waiting to attack her. The thought as well as the _possibilities_ of the aftermath being held captive crossed her mind, her imagination running wild. Her brows furrowed as she immediately washed away all vulnerability from her mien, her fists tightening as she dared stand up and take a defensive stance – she held a few bottles of pepper spray in her pockets and she was well trained with hand-to-hand combat. Despite no longer having him to train her, she had still practiced in this world.

She ought to speak but then the bushes rustled and then the creeping eyes finally showed themselves.

Her eyes widened. The one who was watching her was not a man, or a woman, or a human at all. She let her hands fall on her sides, her heart racing almost as if leaping out of her chest. She could not understand the feeling, but she knew it was a sense of relief.

The animal slowly walked towards her, it was a wolf, it had a lovely caramel – chocolate coloured coated fur with darker highlights by its head and back. Her skin heated up at the incomprehensible build of familiarity. She thought that maybe it was her desperate happiness of finally seeing one of his kin that made her ecstatic? She walked towards the wolf, meeting halfway as she knelt down. Her cerulean hues staring into the other's—she always thought that wolves bore grey, brown or almond hues but this one in particular had striking sky blue ones, such a bright and clear colour that contrasted his dark fur. Her heart thundered in her chest, she was embarrassed that the wolf would have senses her anxiety and she knew how sensitive they were with extreme emotions especially fear. She only hoped that it would not decipher her feelings as fear. It was all but fear.

"Hey... Are you lost?" Her voice was gentle, her tone was soft and almost like a whisper but audible enough for the wolf (she assumed), she worried her feelings of love and relief was overflowing once she began to speak that she made sure to shut her heart close and her words escaped with a slight shiver. Her lips tugged into a nurturing smile, it was definitely a rare sight to see a wolf around Japan, especially around this region – it was practically urbanized here, though there were a few forests there would be little to none chances of actually seeing wolves around. She reached her hand out, her palm facing up and her fingers relaxed – this was one of the ways she could show that she was not there to fight the wolf and hopefully earn its trust.

The wolf did not respond and glanced at the hand as he looked back directly into her sapphire hues. His chin resting on her palm as his nose nuzzled against her palm showing that he accepted her and offered its trust.

The wolf pulled back and Kagome only watched, not wanting to do anything abrupt with the lost, lone wolf. But its next course of action had surprised her to the point she was going to break.

His chin tipped up as its lip parted, a loud, echoing howl escaping its lips from the depths of his chest. The howl he emitted was deep, and reverberated through its listener's chest, striking through their hearts and engulfing them in a tantalizing imagery.

 _This sound, this howl_ —it was almost _too identical_ to her delusions. She wondered, was she finally crazy enough that she physically had imagined...

The wolf stopped, his tongue stuck out as he licked the woman on her cheek as he settled his snout by the crook of her neck.

Kagome's hand shakily reached up at the wolf, wrapping her arms around it. Could it be...?

Once engulfed in intermingled warmth, her eyes were shut close as her tears flowed. She let her limber fingers rung through the thick fur of the animal she held in her arms. "... Kouga...?"

At her word, the thick fur slowly dissipated, heat emitting from the wolf's body as there was only _skin_ to be felt. Her hands eventually found hair—but it was unlike the previous sensation—this felt like human hair. _This feeling, this texture, this colour!_ Kagome opened her eyes quickly as she felt the wolf pull back from their hug, she no longer saw an animal but a man whose face she had been aching to see however only saw in a dream or n a nightmare.

Although he did not wear his pony tail as well as the pelt headband that was covering around his forehead, she knew exactly this face. The way his onyx tresses fell over and past his shoulders, the way his piercing sky blue gaze stared into her gentle, deep ocean blue ones. His large hands rose as it cupped each side of her face, his thumbs rubbing over her cheeks and wiping the tears that had fallen from her beautiful face.

" _Kagome_."

 _Oh, his voice...!_ His voice was husky, low and breathy – her heart melted as she pulled him in another hug, her face buried against his naked chest as she curled against him, his arms wrapped around her as he settled his chin above her head, his strong arms enclosed around her in a tight, secure and loving embrace.

She let herself utter her cries, once that she had thought she kept locked away six years ago. It had been so long since she cried over this, and even if this were all but a New Year's dream, she was thankful of how vivid this all feels. Her heart sank and her loneliness and sorrow began to emanate from her.

Kouga growled, sensing this from the scent she emitted – it permeated and clogged his nose of succumbing pain. He pulled back, as he neared his lips towards her and pressed it against her soft lips, his fang lightly grazing over her sensitive flesh. "I've finally found you after over five hundred years." Kouga said after he pulled back from the desperate yet chaste kiss.

The woman's cheeks flushed red, her eyes wide, could this be a dream – definitely not! "Kouga... I—"

And finally, his lips tugged into a gentle smile, her brain went dead and her heart flat lined. She was gone; this was what she had been aching to see, to feel, to hear.

After a few moments of silence her eyes trailed down from his face to his chest then... _Oh!_ Her hands flew to her face, covering her eyes as she shuffled back slightly. "Oh... oh no! I'm so sorry, um!" She quickly shook off her coat and offered it to Kouga who was stark naked after reverting to human form.

The wolf demon emitted a laughter that rumbled from his chest as he waved his hand, not at all feeling bothered he was naked – there was no one watching after all. "It's fine, I'll just be a wolf again but I can't speak to you that way." He said as he crawled towards her and hooked his arms around her armpits and settled her on his lap. This time she squirmed uncomfortably, as much as she had missed the wolf demon she found extremely attractive, this was not the perfect time!

"Let's... let's go to my place...?" Kagome said with a timid smile as she looked into her tender and love filled sky blue hues.

Kouga only nodded as he placed another kiss on her lips, however deeper now as he nipped on her bottom lip, his tongue sliding over her mouth. Kagome eventually relaxed onto his hold and kisses as she leaned closer to him. Not before long, collective explosions erupted breaking the reunited lover's kiss as they stared at the sky that was adorned in multiple fireworks of different colours, shapes and extravagance.

The two melted at the warm sight before drowning in each other's warmth, falling into another kiss.

"Happy New Year's...," Kagome breathed as the kisses gradually became sloppy, wet and messy.

Kouga grinned against her kisses his own heart feeling euphoric after five hundred years of wallowing in his quiet sorrow, "Finally." He emitted another howl, one that she was confident to register as something _real_.

His howl was what relaxed her thundering heart but sent her to a haywire mess.

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A/N: Feel free to leave your thoughts.


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